Last week, a rough cut of our film, Not In Our Town III: Light In the Darkness, was screened in the Alan Splet Theatre of the beautiful Zaentz Media Center [1], not far from our office in Oakland, Calif. The purpose was to explore the ways the film engages viewers with a small, local audience. The feedback we received was tremendous and we found that many in the audience were as touched by the story of Patchogue, N.Y. as we were.

 

The film follows the Patchogue community after the fatal attack of local immigrant resident, Marcelo Lucero. After the screening, the audience—including journalists Sandy Close,  Executive Director of New America Media [2] and Dori Maynard, President of the Maynard Institute [3]—discussed the importance of civic leadership and the divisive effect of anti-immigrant rhetoric. Hate crimes, as one viewer said, touches entire communities.

 

Thank you to those who attended. We can’t wait to share this film with our community nationwide. Once the film is complete we will be looking for community members, schools and groups to partner with to host screenings. If you are interested in hosting a screening to spark conversations in your own community please email us at info@niot.org [4]. Until then, you can find the trailer here [5].